YoungScientistsTHE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM’S 2020 COMMUNITY OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS

2020

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Each year the World Economic Forum selects a group of extraordinary scientists under the age of 40 for their contributions to advancing the frontiers of science and passion for integrating scientific knowledge into society for the public good.

Trusted to be the next-generation of science leaders from across academic disciplines and continents, they are joining a community and a three-year journey of growth and impact, committed to promoting a healthier, more sustainable, inclusive and equitable future.

The World Economic Forum’sYoung Scientists Community brings together the most forward-thinking and celebrated scientific minds in the world.

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#electromagnetism #wirelesspower

Joseph CostantineAssociate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, American University of Beirut

Joseph’s research leverages electromagnetism to design a new generation of wireless communication systems, biomedical sensors and wirelessly powered devices through radio frequency energy harvesting.

Meet the 2020 Class of Young Scientists

#physics #quantumcomputing

Celeste CarruthPostdoctoral Researcher in Physics, ETH Zurich

Celeste is developing a new 2D ion trap experiment for quantum information processing that is expected to be more reliable and cheaper to scale up than competing technologies and aims to lead to breakthrough quantum computing results.

#geosciences #water

Joanna Doummar

Assistant Professor of Geology, American University of Beirut

Joanna seeks to better understand complex underground drainage systems, known as karst aquifers, to better address and solve national water quality and quantity challenges.

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#earthsystems #marinescience

#diagnostictools #wearabletech

#monitoringevaluation #communityhealth

#particlephysics #understandingtheuniverse

Sarah Fawcett

Gao Wei

Diego Garcia-Huidobro

Francisca Garay

Senior Lecturer, Oceanography, University of Cape Town

Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering, California Institute of Technology

Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Assistant Professor, Physics Faculty, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Sarah researches the role of ocean chemistry and biology in climate, as well as the impacts of human activities on marine environments using measures of elements like carbon and nitrogen.

Wei develops skin-interfaced wearable biosensors that will enable analytics through sweat rather than blood, leading to non-invasive and real-time analysis and timely medical intervention.

Diego uses human-centred design methods to develop sustainable and scalable community-level health interventions in Chile.

Francisca is studying what the most basic building blocks of the universe are by developing technologies to accelerate and enhance the capabilities of particle accelerators.

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#immunology #viruses

#chemistry #bioelectronics

#neuroscience #mentalhealth

#healthsystems #caesarean

Joe Grove

Nicola Gasparini

Lee Sue-Hyun

Salome Maswime

Sir Henry Dale Fellow, University College London

Independent Research Fellow, Imperial College London

Assistant Professor, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Associate Professor, University of Cape Town

Joe investigates how viruses enter human cells and evade the immune system to reveal new biology and inform the design of future vaccines.

Nicola is developing novel technologies to treat severe and incurable vision problems caused by degeneration of the retina, which affects almost 200 million people worldwide.

Sue-Hyun researches how memories are recalled and updated, and how emotional processes affect human memory, to inform therapeutic interventions for mental disorders.

Salome seeks to understand surgical health systems and causes of maternal death during caesarean section in poorly resourced areas to improve surgical care across populations.

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#socioeconomics #ageing

#quantumcomputing #materialscience

#microbiome #amr

#publichealth #ageing

Meng Ke

Philip Moll

Jennifer Ronholm

Mine Orlu

Associate Professor, Tsinghua University

Assistant Professor, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Assistant Professor, McGill University

Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics, University College London

Ke seeks to understand the socio-economic causes of population ageing and declining fertility rates to suggest what public policy measures and innovations can be used to address them.

Philip is developing new methods to make micro-scale modifications to material structures with the potential to improve quantum computing.

Jennifer is working to strengthen the microbiome of agricultural animals to resist infections in the absence of antibiotics, with the aim of reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Mine is designing patient-tailored pharmaceutical and healthcare technologies that contribute to healthy and independent ageing, from birth to old-age.

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#electronicengineering #cybersecurity

#novelmaterials #perovskites

#novelmaterials #boneregeneration

#immunology #cancer

Shi Ling

Michael Saliba

Stefanie Sydlik

Andy Tay

Associate Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Professor and Director, University of Stuttgart

Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

1851 Royal Commission Brunel Research Fellow, Imperial College London

Ling researches the vulnerability of cyber-physical systems to protect safety-critical infrastructures – such as power utilities and water transportation systems – from attacks.

Michael is developing inexpensive, stable and highly efficient perovskite solar cells that will enable the acceleration of sustainable energy technology.

Stefanie designs new materials that stimulate the body’s healing response to enable the regeneration of natural bone as an alternative to metal implants currently used to heal bone injuries.

Andy is developing new technology and materials to engineer immune cells, tissues and systems, with the aim of preventing and treating cancer.

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#mathematicalmodelling #microrobotics

#psychology #language

#diagnostictools #MRI

#artificialintelligence #climatechange

Zeynep Temel

Sho Tsuji

Wu Dan

Jan Dirk Wegner

Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator, University of Tokyo

Research Professor, Zhejiang University

Senior Scientist and Lecturer, ETH Zurich

Zeynep uses analytical models and physical prototypes to test and explore biologically inspired designs, leading to the development of small-scale robots and robotic components.

Sho seeks to understand how an infant’s social environment affects language acquisition – a key predictor of future literacy – to inform culturally sensitive, science-based societal interventions.

Dan is researching technological advances in MRI techniques to improve its ability to detect tumours and stroke, as well as monitor foetal brain development.

Jan develops novel artificial intelligence methods to analyse large-scale environmental data and accelerate humanity’s ability to solve ecological problems.

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#systemsengineering #satellites

#psychology #autism

Ying Xu

Yi Li

Researcher, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Assistant Professor, Peking University

Xu’s research focuses on enhancing China’s low-orbit Beidou navigation satellite system, which could lead to advances in the commercial aerospace industry.

Li researches social-communicative impairments in children with autism in China to develop more precise screening and diagnosis, as well as innovative treatment approaches in the country.

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